“What if he suddenly attacks us?”

 

 

“Yunho, I’m pretty sure he won’t. This poor little thing’s all wrapped up and heavily pregnant, must I remind you.”

 

“We can’t trust anyone so easily these days.”

 

“Stop being so paranoid. We couldn’t have just left him there to die!”

 

“But, Joongie… you’ll never know. What if he—”

 

“—For crying out loud! He’s just a kid, look at him. I’m sure he’s not dangerous.”

 

Baekhyun’s eyes flutter open at the awfully loud bickering going on around him. He’s pretty sure whoever those voices belong to are trying their best to keep their volume to hushed tones but apparently failing miserably.

 

 “Could you guys… keep it down a little,” Baekhyun mumbles as he tries to push himself up to a sitting position. He groans when he feels a pain in the lower part of his abdomen, though it’s now considerably better than before. It’s no longer the same stabbing sensation but a dull throb.

 

A pair of hands is quick to help him lean against the hard rock that’s lined with deer skin. When he finally gets his bearings right, he sees that there are two grown men standing before him, one with an uncertain yet dazzling smile and the other with a warm bordering on creepy grin.

 

“How are you feeling, honey?” The one who had helped him up and was now sitting beside him asked.

 

“Much better than before,” Baekhyun says honestly, though he’s still a little wary of who they may be. He scrunches his nose in thought and that’s when it hits him – all that blood before he passed out.

 

“My babies,” Baekhyun cries urgently as he grips onto the man’s forearm, fingernails digging into the skin, “Please tell me they’re okay. Please, I can’t lose them!”

 

A look flashes across the man’s face as his grin disappears, and Baekhyun is quick to think the worst. Tears start to flow its way down both his eyes as his breathing hitches. Before he has a chance to say anything else, though, the man beside him hurriedly soothes him.

 

“No, no, sweetheart, you didn’t lose them.”

 

Baekhyun’s cries cease as he blinks away the tears and holds a hand to his abdomen. He concentrates on trying to feel them and sure enough, after a few seconds wait, he feels a few kicks inside. He sobs dryly in relief as a small smile graces his lips.

 

“T-Thank you.” He wanted to say more but he knew his gratitude could not be put into words, especially not right then when he had just recovered from a huge scare.

 

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Jaejoong, and this is my Alpha mate, Yunho.” The man sitting down on the makeshift bed (that’s relatively more comfortable than the one Baekhyun has back home) beams as he extends a hand. Baekhyun notices the tight-lipped smile Yunho gives but decides to disregard it as he cautiously eyes the outstretched hand.

 

Hesitantly, he shakes on it. “I’m Baekhyun.”

 

There were so many questions he wanted to ask but there were also so many pressing problems on his mind. He didn’t know where to start, and worst of all, he’s not in a familiar environment. All he wants right now was for Chanyeol to come get him and hold him and tell him that everything will be okay. But of course, his mate didn’t even know where he was. He thinks that he’s home, taking care of all seven of their pups.

 

“Yunho here found you just a few miles east from our home when he went out to get some wood, and you were heavily bleeding and pregnant so I patched you up. All you need now is some rest, a few days should do it. Is there anybody out there looking for you?” Jaejoong asks kindly.

 

“No…” Baekhyun trails off. He’s supposed to be the one in charge of things back home but here he was, stupidly injured, his youngest still missing, and kids back at home all by themselves. The fears he had voiced to Chanyeol about being a bad mother were true. He knew those hunches he had had for weeks now wasn’t nothing.

 

Jaejoong must have sensed the distress in him because he gently pats his hand as he gazes concernedly at the boy.

 

“It’s okay, you can stay here for a few days. We don’t mind. We really want you to get be—”

 

“—No!” Baekhyun cries, “I mean, I can’t stay. I’ve got… a problem.”

 

“What is it? Maybe we could be of some help?”

 

“I…” Baekhyun trails off, wondering if he could really trust these people. But, after all, they did save him. And if they could have just left him there to die, but they didn’t.

 

So Baekhyun decides to do the one thing he has never done in the years after his abandonment from his own pack. He puts his faith and trust in them. He knew it was the only way he would have a shot at ever finding Little D.O and also going back to his children in time before anything else happened.

 

In that short amount of time, the couple and Baekhyun exchanged information about each other. Baekhyun got to know that the couple was also like himself and Chanyeol, on their own and without a pack. They had left theirs and started a new life on their own when their pack members disapproved of their relationship. Baekhyun tells of his predicament – his missing pup, his AWOL mate and his remaining pups back home. Jaejoong, having strong motherly instincts in him, had gave a short lecture to Baekhyun about leaving his kids on their own, but he couldn’t say much either because there were conflicting issues.

 

“Okay, don’t freak out, Baekhyun, but you’ve been out for three days.”

 

Baekhyun’s eyes widens in shock. He can’t even afford to lose a minute not searching for his youngest but here he was, having been asleep for days.

 

Yunho, who had been the quietest during the whole exchange, finally spoke up when they were brainstorming on ways to solve Baekhyun’s problems.

 

“How about this: You go back to your pups and we’ll help you find for the one that ran away.”

 

“That sounds reasonable,” Baekhyun concedes, “He’s really small for a five-year-old and he has carmine coloured fur.”

 

“That’s not enough to lead us. Do you have something of his we could use? If we have his scent, it’ll speed up the searching process.”

 

“I don’t have anything on me now, but maybe you could come back with me and I’ll pass it to you?” Baekhyun suggests.

 

The three finally set off. Jaejoong had insisted on carrying Baekhyun because he was still in no condition to travel, but the latter kindly rejected the offer, claiming that they’ve done a lot more with saving him and his babies, more than he could ever repay. They moved slow, for it still hurt for Baekhyun to even trot, but soon, the latter found his bearings and led the way back.

 

It took them less than an hour, to Baekhyun’s surprise, which meant that their homes were within close proximity.

 

The second Baekhyun steps into the boundary of their home, he breaks out into a staggering sprint into the cave where he is met with his pups who were all happy to see him. Kris, being the sharp kid he was, immediately notices that his mother isn’t in the best condition so he quickly instructs everyone to keep from jumping at their mother.

 

Baekhyun was pleased with Kris’ initiative but honestly, he wanted nothing more than to hug every single one of them and kiss them to his heart’s content because after all that has happened, he was in dire need of a pick me up. And his cute pups never fail to do just that.

 

Baekhyun holds his arms open as an invitation as he beckons, “Come here, my babies.”
 

Everyone stumbles into his embrace as he tries his best to accommodate everyone, kissing every head.

 

“Mummy, we were so scared. You were gone for three days!” Jongin cries, trying to hold back his tears.

 

“Yeah! We thought you was eaten by a deer,” Tao pipes in. Sehun, noticing his brother’s mistake, calls him out for it.

 

“It’s were, not was,” Sehun rolls his eyes.

 

“Shut up, Hun, you’re younger than me, stop trying to act like you’re older.”

 

The both of them began to bicker but Baekhyun couldn’t seem to bring himself to stop them for once, because he actually misses it. Three days were too long a time to be away from his babies. Baekhyun holds a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose at the sudden headache that came about from the noise.

 

“EVERYONE, SHUT UP! MUMMY’S SICK, CAN’T YOU SEE?” Luhan screams in a high-pitched voice at the top of his lungs.

 

At this, all the pups started to fuss over their mother. Chen and Tao were checking each of his arm, Sehun had climbed from the back onto his shoulders (thank god he’s light) to see if there was anything wrong with his mother’s head, Luhan stayed at his feet while Kris walked up and placed a hand over the bulging tummy.

 

“Mummy…” Kris says in a uncharacteristically timid voice, “Are dongsaengies okay?”

 

Baekhyun reaches a hand out to ruffle his oldest as he gives a reassuring smile, “They’re okay, Kris ah.”

 

“Kids, there are people I’d like you to meet.”

 

Baekhyun peels himself from every pup before going outside to bring his new found friends inside.

 

“Everyone, this is Yunho hyung and Jaejoong hyung. He helped save mummy. They’re going to help us find Little D.O.”

 

A chorus of enthusiastic greeting fills the cave.

 

“Oh, they’re all so adorable!” Jaejoong squeals, holding onto his mate’s arm. Yunho couldn’t help but drop his cold façade and smile at the scene.

 

Baekhyun is reminded of why there were guests here and immediately went to grab one of D.O’s shirts. He takes a deep whiff of it and pouts. He’s missing his baby so much but there was nothing much he could do but wait till his friends found him.

 

“Here. It’s his favourite shirt. His father gave it to him on his first birthday. He doesn’t fit into it anymore but he sleeps with it and uses it like a blankie.”

 

Yunho and Jaejoong takes a whiff of it as their expressions turn serious.

 

“We’ll do our best to bring him home. Don’t worry, Baekhyun.”

 

 

---

 

 

Chanyeol hauls the prize of his attacks in a huge bundle behind him as he aggressively claws his way through the thick vines and roots. This year’s haul seemed to be much more than the previous years’, almost thrice that of the year before. He was pleased with it. This meant that he could return much earlier than expected. After that nagging feeling, he was certain that something wasn’t right back home and he didn’t want to waste any more time than he already has.

 

Though exhausted, the midnight blue wolf flies through the forest, in between trees, at the speed of light.

 

When he was already within a 10-mile radius of their home, his ears perked at the distant sounds of his pups. He uses it as a motivation, picking up even more speed.

 

It was nearly nightfall when he finally reaches the clearing of his home. To his surprise, his mate hadn’t greeted him outside like he always does. There was a certain somberness that hung in the air, and Chanyeol didn’t like it one bit.

 

He deposits his earnings in the makeshift kitchen off at the side of the cave and changes back into human form before trotting inside to see Baekhyun in human form, tucking the kids into bed. The smaller male flinches at the sudden sound of leaves rustling and turns around to come face to face with his mate.

 

There were no words to describe how utterly relieved and happy to see Chanyeol home. A warm lopsided grin spreads across Chanyeol’s face just as Baekhyun falls forward into his embrace. He buries his face into Chanyeol’s chest and clings onto his back as Chanyeol circles his own arms around his mate.

 

The kids were already asleep, so Chanyeol decides he shouldn’t wake them up no matter how much he wanted to hold them. Instead, he brings Baekhyun outside into the night air where he places a gentle kiss onto his lips.

 

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks just as he pulls away, noticing Baekhyun’s tense expression. He keeps his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders as he scrutinizes his mate’s form.

 

“I-I… Chanyeol…” Baekhyun whimpers. He winces at how his mate doesn’t seem to be warm anymore, but is now looking at him in an almost hostile manner.

 

“What is it?” Chanyeol demands more forcefully this time.

 

“It’s D.O,” Baekhyun manages a small and weak response. Chanyeol’s hands drop from Baekhyun’s shoulders as he stares hard at the other. Baekhyun could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes at the lack of warmth and the cold attitude of his mate. It doesn’t help that it’s an awfully chilly night as his own arms wraps themselves around his shaking frame.

 

When Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, Baekhyun speaks in a quiet tone that’s laced with utmost fear, “He’s missing. He ran away…”

 

There’s a moment of deafening silence when Baekhyun watches Chanyeol’s eyes go livid. His expression hardens even more than it already has  while he lets out an angry huff as one of his hands rest at his hip and the other runs through his messy hair.

 

Chanyeol takes short and snappy breaths as he struggles to control the rising flames of irritation. He sends a glare in Baekhyun’s direction.

 

“What have you done, Baekhyun? I leave you for three days. Three days and you lose our child!?

 

Baekhyun is unable to stop himself as he bursts out into uncontrollable sobbing, cowering at the harsh tone and fury in Chanyeol’s eyes.

 

The Parks have gone through so much in the past years – homelessness, deadly winter storms and a period of starvation.

 

But Baekhyun doesn’t know how they’re going to get through this, especially if D.O never makes it home.

 

Chanyeol will never forgive him for it.

 

---

 

 

Note: This is getting depressing, idk how to write fluff anymore :( It's the best I could do. Hopefully when my writer's block for this goes away I can write some fluff like the tag says ;( i feel like i fooled you guys with rainbows and sparkles and a whole load of cuteness in the first chapter and then BAM! Drama.

But I promise to try harder? :X

Thanks for reading and all comments~